If you’re a regular reader of South Leeds Life, you’ll know that we’re big fans of community website FixMyStreet.com.
The site provides a facility for members of the public to report things that need fixing on their street, such as broken streetlamps, potholes, flytipping etc.
Problems reported on the site are then forwarded to the relevant local county council and progress can be tracked.
Fix Before The Freeze
FixMyStreet is now urging people to take action to let their councils know about problems to be fixed before the winter freeze.
The ‘Fix Before the Freeze’ campaign has just launched and hopes to “see to the little issues that could become big headaches before winter”.
They give the examples
- potholes will become larger as the frost takes grip. Report them now and ensure safer roads in the forthcoming icy conditions.
- Broken lampposts don’t matter on long summer days, but on dark evenings they can be a real danger.
- Cracked or broken paving slabs are a hazard for the elderly and infirm, and doubly so when the frost strikes.
Using the site is really easy, the online form is straightforward
Marketing and Communications Manager for FixMyStreet, Myfanwy Nixon, says:
“It’s easy enough to check which streetlights aren’t working on your way home from work – make a mental note, then report them on FixMyStreet. It really does only take a minute, and it could help your local community.
“If everyone does this, and asks one or two friends and colleagues to do the same, south Leeds could be a safer place this winter.”
Keep it updated
Looking at FixMyStreet today, we can see that there are items that have been fixed by the council, which haven’t been updated.
If you think/know that something has been fixed, there is an update facility on FixMyStreet to let them know.
That way, it gives a clearer picture of what the situation is.
Background on FixMyStreet
The website is one of several community projects built by the not-for-profit organisation mySociety.
It receives approximately 1,000 problems every week, of which over 65,000 have been marked as fixed.
FixMyStreet encourages transparency and accountability by publishing reports online as well as sending them to the council.
This article has been taken and adapted from Ventnor Blog in the Isle of Wight – one of the leading hyperlocal sites in the UK.
